Flexirods: The debut!

Hey there everybody

So I know that I have been a little absent, but I blame the crazy flu that has been doing the rounds here in my neck of the woods, as well as a pretty hectic work schedule. I am also trying to finalise my travel arrangements so that I can go to on my mini European vacation without worries or stress. 

Hair wise a couple of things have happened though. I'm slightly pressed for time so please bare with me. 

I had my hair touched up at 29 weeks post. It was during the time that I was sick and I simply could NOT handle my thick new growth whilst battling influenza. So I went to a salon, and lucky for me, it being a Wednesday morning, they were empty and I could be helped immediately. It wasn't my regular salon that I went to. Because I was booked off and lying at home sick I went to one that was around the corner of my apartment and that always looked very professional. I took my own relaxer - the ORS Olive Oil for Girls No Lye Relaxer Kit. I was a complete pain in the butt too, giving instructions as they work. Unfortunately (I don't know why this happened) I did not get the results I wanted. This salon is never seeing me again and here's why:

1. Hair was a tangled mess after neutralizing AND conditioning. I insisted on detangling it myself because this woman wanted to start ripping through the knots!! She gave me a stink eye for saying I want to detangle myself and for that ALONE they will not receive my business again. 

2. She didn't do a proper job smoothing the relaxer. I did not want texlaxed hair and that's what I ended up with. Yes, it's still more manageable than my natural roots but now I STILL have two textures to contend with. And in about 6 weeks, it'll be three textures. I don't have the patience! Ain't nobody got time for that! I have self relaxed before using that exam same kit and I managed to get my hair processed to the desired level. So, there's another reason why I won't go back. 

3. They didn't have a decent leave in conditioner that they could apply prior to rollersetting. At this point I wanted to rifle through their products and simply pick one! I even asked to then simply apply a Wella serum that was standing on the counter and I was promptly rebuffed and told that serums are applied after blow drying. EXCUSE ME??? It's MY dang hair! I know what it likes! Don't try to educate me when I'm a FIRST TIME customer! 

4. Lastly I had to BEG them to apply a heat protectant prior to blow drying and finishing off with the GHD flat iron. BEG! Can y'all believe this nonsense?! 

At least my hair looked nice walking out and the resulting blowout lasted over a week and remained soft and moisturised. But they will not be seeing me again.

Last week I realised that my hair needs a serious shot of protein. And I was sick of having pin straight hair. So I bought two packs of flexi rods and set myself up for wash day. Here's a brief synopsis of how it went:

• Pre-poo using Dove Daily Conditioning Treatment for Colour Treated hair. Left on overnight covered with a plastic showercap and scarf.
• Shampoo using Avon Smooth as Silk shampoo containing silk proteins. I LIKE this shampoo. Hair felt clean without feeling stripped. 
• Instant condition with Dove Hair Fall Rescue conditioner. I don't like. Won't repurchase. No slip. Does not feel moisturising at all. 
• DC with ORS Replenishing Conditioner. Staple!
• Put in leave in of Smooth as Silk Serum from Avon and proceeded to set with flexi rods for the first time ever. First mistake - I did not have enough rods. I need to buy at least 1 more pack of ten. Second mistake - hair started drying as I was rolling and I did not re-wet it sufficiently so my ends came out a little wonky. Third mistake - not taking time into consideration. I had two birthday parties to attend later in the day and although I used my hand held dryer on the medium setting to speed the drying process along, some parts were still damp when I started to unroll which also led to wonky frizzy ends. 
• After almost 5 hours (washing, setting and drying time) I was already late so I pinned up the back and created a semi faux hawk, which everybody loved. And I still have curls today :-)

So, lessons learned - hair must be soaking wet when setting on flexi rods to ensure a smooth set and don't do a flexi rod set when pressed for time as the hair will not be sufficiently dry. Also practice makes perfect. This will NOT be the last set. Here's the results of my very first flexi rod set:

What was the biggest lesson y'all have learned this week hair wise? 

Have a cracking Wednesday!